Visit to Clef des Champs in Val-David
By Mélanie Paquet, naturopath
819.230.4650
For several years now, I've been interested in the field of health, and more specifically in phytotherapy. It's incredible to see the power of plants on the human body. I also think it's important to encourage local companies that offer us quality products.
La Clef des Champs is located in Val-David, less than a two-hour drive from Gatineauand overlooks an incredible public garden of medicinal plants. It's the perfect way to spend a few hours with the kids in a landscape that's as much about seeing, smelling and tasting as it is about precious summer. Don't delay, add this visit to your schedule!
You'll have access to the site every day from July 16 to August 21, 2016 between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. for a small fee. Arrive early for a guided tour, otherwise you can use audio guides or wander around on your own, at your own pace. There is one caveat, however: the beauty of Clef des Champs is contagious, and you might find yourself, moved by a color, writing a poem on flower petals or taking a photo of your children in front of the site's pony mascots: Azote and Achille.
In my role as a naturopathic doctor, I use, consume and recommend medicinal plants to my clients, so imagine rubbing shoulders with them in their natural habitat? It's an intoxicating experience, especially to find them in such impressive quantity and variety! For example, I was delighted to be able to taste fresh lemon balm leaves, which had a delicious lemony taste. My favorite fragrance was meadowsweet, which the bees were courting under the sun.
Each plant was clearly identified with its medicinal properties. What's more, I found that certain herbs and flowers had special needs and were kept in greenhouses, under plastic, to give them a better chance of survival. In fact, staff and gardeners were busy maintaining the terraced gardens and providing explanations to visitors as they toured the site.
If you're interested in magic, with its old grimoires and strange potions, go to Witches' Gardenespecially if you're accompanied by budding Harry Potters. You'll find plants linked to witchcraft in the past, and their stories are well explained in a setting that transports you to another world.
Finally, I stopped off at the boutique and health bar Le Chardon Marie which serves as a picnic and rest area for visitors, and where you can buy the full range of their products, as well as several books on herbalism. Among their selection of herbal teas and succulent teas, I took the opportunity to sample an iced chai latté... it was a great reward!
Lovely end-of-summer stroll, and don't forget to stock up on herbal teas, beauties and poetry to face the coming autumn.
Mélanie Paquet, naturopath
819.230.4650